(a) Any person or entity operating a child care program without being certified by the department or who continues to operate such program while a suspension of the certificate is in effect, or who operates a child care program following the effective date of a denial or revocation of a certificate, commits a Class A misdemeanor.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-1-1105

  • Child care: means the provision of supervision, protection and, at a minimum, the basic needs of a child or children for three (3) or more hours a day, but less than twenty-four (24) hours a day. See Tennessee Code 49-1-1102
  • Child care program: means any place or facility operated by any person or entity that provides child care for children in a before or after school based program operated by a local board of education pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 49-1-1102
  • Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-1-1102
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Each day of operation without an effective certificate constitutes a separate offense.
(c)

(1) It is unlawful for any person who is an operator, certificate holder or employee of a child care program to make any statement, whether written or verbal, to a parent or guardian of a child in the care of such program, to any state or local official having jurisdiction over such program, or to any law enforcement officer, knowing the statement is false, including, but not limited to, statements regarding:

(A) The number of children in the child care program;
(B) The area of the child care program used for child care; or
(C) The credentials, licensure or qualification of any care giver, employee, substitute or volunteer of the child care program.
(2) In order for subdivision (c)(1) to apply, the falsity of the statement must place at risk the health or safety of a child in the care of the child care program.
(3) A violation of subdivision (c)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(4) This subsection (c) includes statements made in any child care program certificate application that misrepresents or conceals a material fact that would have resulted in the certificate being denied.
(5) In addition to any punishment authorized under this subsection (c), the department may also take any certificate action authorized under this part.
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